7 Different Types of Minimum Viable Products

It’s easy for an entrepreneur to assume that their product is bound for success without validating their target market and the demand their product will generate.

I can’t stress the importance of building a minimum viable product (MVP) to offset the risk of launching without adequately identifying a solution that your customers are willing to pay for.

An MVP is a necessary first step, but what type of MVP should you build? That’s right: The next decision you make is choosing the right MVP for your needs.

Common types of MVPs include:

• Single feature application
• Email campaign
• Pre-order/crowdfunding campaign
• Concierge
• Wizard of Oz
• Piecemeal
• Landing page/fake door

Each type has their own pros and cons, and I’ll cover the basics below.

Single Feature Application MVP

A single feature application is best used after you have already done quite a bit of research into your target market and the problems you wish to solve for them. Your goal is to have a clear focus in the app to test your hypothesis (whether that’s a business model, technology, or process) on your target customer.

This type of MVP gets you to market more quickly (and cheaply) than developing a full-featured application. The goal is to get it out in the market so you can get real feedback from actual potential customers on your idea.

Email Campaign MVP

Email is still a very viable way to test the waters for interest in your product or service. If you already have an email list of potential customers (maybe through your professional or personal networks), you can leverage their feedback.

How does it work? Put together an email asking if your contacts are interested in joining a pre-launch waitlist and evaluate the responses you get (Product Hunt is a good example of starting from an email list).

A Pre-Order/Crowdfunding Campaign MVP

A pre-order or crowdfunding campaign is one step forward from an email list — instead of just interest, it focuses on getting purchases and contacts before the actual product has been created. This type is great for products requiring an initial customer base to function or have upfront costs. You can create your own website or use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter.

To motivate people to place a pre-order, you will likely need mockups, videos, and a clear description. The better you can explain how your product will work and the value it can provide, the more you can begin to test its viability through accrued pre-orders.

Concierge MVP

A concierge MVP tests a service concept without building out the full service. For example, let’s say you wanted to create an app that helps provide people with personalized workout programs. Rather than building the app, your MVP would have you individually (or manually) create workout recommendations for each customer (a concierge treatment). If your customers respond positively to the service, you’ll have proven the demand to create an app that will more easily provide these same recommendations.

If you build a concierge service for your MVP, you should be transparent that it is not currently an automated service.

Wizard of Oz MVP

A Wizard of Oz MVP is similar to the concierge MVP in that they are both manually operated, but the critical difference is that the Wizard of Oz is meant to seem like an automated experience for the customer. In reality, someone is manually working to provide the experience — much like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz. If you execute it correctly, customers unknowingly assume the technology is already in place.

The goal of a Wizard of Oz MVP is to test the viability of the seamless experience. Once the concept is proven to be a viable one, you can be more confident in creating your full-featured service or product.

Piecemeal MVP

A piecemeal MVP is a little more challenging to define, as there are an endless amount of variations. At its core, a piecemeal MVP is nothing more than combining a series of pre-existing products to create the foundations of a new service. There are a near-limitless number of digital tools that allow all sorts of interactions between users, and by creatively stringing these tools together, it is possible to form a whole new type of service.

Landing Page/Fake Door MVP

Creating a landing page with a fake door is a great way to accurately gauge market interest for a product or service without needing to actually develop anything. You can create a landing page (a one-page website) for an app or service that describes your product with a “Buy Now” button. But instead of being able to actually purchase the product, you will have them opt for some form of data collection, such as giving you an email address. Landing pages can also be used in other types of MVPs such as the pre-order MVP, or collecting emails for an email MVP.

Based on the number of people who visit the landing page and choose to attempt to purchase the product, you will know if you have a viable idea on your hands or not. This is an entirely data-driven method to test interest in a concept with minimal cost. This process can also help you validate other aspects of your process, such as marketing and domain name effectiveness.

Which MVP is Right For Your Business?

This is a short list of the common types of MVPs but it’s important to remember that it’s not a complete list. You can even combine a few of these types as you develop your specific MVP.

Get creative! The most important thing is to determine what is an easy way to gauge interest in the unique selling point of your service or product.

If you truly understand your target market, how they spend their time and interact with technology, it’ll put you on the right path to measure your idea viability using these types of MVPs.

What’s next? Stay tuned for a more in-depth dive into each of these types.